Robin Mills | Energy Connects

The North Sea: reclaiming Britain’s offshore legacy before the lights go out

Author

Thought Leadership

The death of Sir Ian Wood on 26 July, and bp’s announcement on 31 July that it will sell its North Sea assets, mark the end of an era. In 1967, Sir Ian took over the family business and turned it into an oil services giant. In the same year, bp began the first commercial North Sea production, from the West Sole gas field. Now Britain’s new prime minister Andy Burnham has to ensure the North Sea’s 60th birthday is a celebration, not an epitaph.

Author

Thought Leadership

The United States at 250: what next for its energy sector?

Author

Thought Leadership

The 4th of July this year marked the US’s 250th birthday. For almost exactly half that time, it has been the champion of global energy. With a bold shift toward next-generation technologies, the US has a historic opportunity to secure its leadership and ensure that it continues to outpace its rivals in the next energy century.

Author

Thought Leadership

The Ras Laffan reckoning: the reshuffling of the global LNG map

Author

Thought Leadership

In his latest column, Robin Mills examines the impact of recent attacks on Qatar’s LNG infrastructure and the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz on global gas markets. The developments come at a critical moment for LNG supply growth, with implications for prices, project timelines, and longer-term market dynamics.

Author

Thought Leadership

Beyond the quota: OPEC and the quest for balancing the oil market

Author

Thought Leadership

Modern commentators think of OPEC entirely as a market management mechanism, often referring to it as a cartel. But for the first 22 years of its existence after 1960, it did not apply production quotas. It was only in 1982 that OPEC introduced quotas to share the market between its members. Apart from brief periods of breakdown, it has kept that role ever since, writes Robin M. Mills in his latest column for Energy Connects.

Author

Thought Leadership

Beyond the barrel: new strategies for coping with the energy crisis

Author

Thought Leadership

For now, every day that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the world continues to lose about 11 million barrels per day of oil supply out of about 105 million bpd of demand. Also cut off are 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas, some 40% of nitrogen-based fertiliser exports, 45% of sulphur exports, nearly 39% of helium, about 34% of methanol exports, from 9-15% of polymers, and 22% of non-Chinese aluminium production. Production of these energy-intensive commodities elsewhere will also be slashed by the loss of oil and gas feedstock. The best way to make this into a short-lived crisis is to plan for a long one, writes Robin Mills in his latest column for Energy Connects.

Author

Thought Leadership

All eyes on Hormuz as strikes jolt energy markets

Author

Thought Leadership

The Strait of Hormuz normally carries about 15 million barrels per day of crude oil, 5.5 million bpd of refined products, and 82.6 million tonnes of LNG annually — around 20% of global oil supply and 16% of LNG.

Author

Thought Leadership

Middle East conflict: examining the road ahead for gas and LNG

Author

Interviews

The natural gas and LNG ecosystem globally has swiftly felt the effects of the Middle East conflict between Israel, the US and Iran. Prices rose sharply following expectations that a prolonged conflict would squeeze global LNG supplies, not least as Qatar halted LNG production after Iranian drone strikes on Ras Laffan and the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 16% of global LNG supplies pass. Robin Mills, CEO of Qamar Energy and expert columnist, examines the immediate and long-term prospects for the sector.

Author

Interviews

All eyes on Hormuz as Iran strikes put energy markets in uncharted waters

Author

Thought Leadership

The Ayatollah is dead, but the danger to Gulf energy supplies has intensified. While the US and Israel pummel Iran, Iranian drones and missiles hit not just Israel, but its Gulf neighbours. So far, energy facilities are not in the cross-hairs – but how long can that last? Robin M. Mills analyses in his latest column for Energy Connects.

Author

Thought Leadership

The year in commodities: shiny metals, steady crude and a tale of two gas markets

Author

Thought Leadership

Commodities had a good year in 2025. Despite the steady slide in oil, the broad asset class that includes everything from gold to grain and crude to copper overcame tariffs and wars to end more than 15 per cent up in the Bloomberg Commodity Index. One month in, and this year has already delivered plenty of news flow: metals should stay shiny, crude sludgy, while natural gas diverges, writes Robin Mills in his monthly column.

Author

Thought Leadership

2026 outlook: how reliability and renewables can co-exist in the new energy map

Author

Thought Leadership

There can be no energy security without climate security. Wild weather will hit offshore oil platforms and wind turbines, electricity cables and hydroelectric dams. Rising seas will flood petroleum refineries and nuclear power plants. Merciless heat waves will bring blackouts. But those who acknowledge the severity of the climate crisis still have genuine, well-founded concerns over the costs and risks of a very rapid shift to a low-carbon energy system, writes Robin M. Mills in his latest monthly column.

Author

Thought Leadership

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